


11. Going Canon

by RedHead



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, M/M, Oral Sex, Plus some fluff, and humor, bottom!len, coldflash - Freeform, smut with feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-03
Updated: 2016-02-03
Packaged: 2018-05-17 23:09:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5888770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedHead/pseuds/RedHead
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Barry arrives at STAR Labs to finally talk to Len and finds himself navigating this discussion with a 'script' of sorts that he really doesn't mind following.</p>
            </blockquote>





	11. Going Canon

Barry spent a full thirty seconds just _staring_ at the main door of STAR Labs before he worked up the nerve to speed inside. He wasn’t sure the last time his heart had beat quite so fast, quite so heavy in his chest. This could go wrong in so many ways, and he was probably crazy to be here, to _hope_ …

But he had to try. So he sped into the hall then stopped, and forced himself to walk slowly into the cortex so he wouldn’t trip over his heart in his throat, in his feet, in each fiber. Snart—Leonard, _Len_ —was there, holding the key to the city, just as promised, just as he had been in the fic from Top, but then, that meant... This fic that was real, because Len had set it up to _be_ real. But just… _how_ real?  

Barry didn’t know what to expect. Len wasn’t wearing the parka, and the cold gun was laid down too, the hip holster off, and he wasn’t looking up yet, eyes focused on the key in his fingers, eyebrows drawn together just a bit. He glanced up when he heard Barry enter. 

Barry’s heart thumped in his chest. “Why?” 

Snart—Len—looked surprised for all of a second before the mask fell back into place, the smirk.

“You’re right on time as always, Flash, but I’m afraid that means you’re too late to stop me.” 

Barry sucked in a breath, eyes wide. He wasn’t on time. He was late. He’d taken way too long to decide if he should even show up. But that line. That’s what Len said in the story, the fic that _he_ wrote. That’s what—were they playing it out? In _detail_? Len wasn’t in the Cold outfit, not really with the key pieces set aside, and Barry wasn’t in his suit, it was immobile and on display, but…

Len had leaned forward on one foot as he said it, and it might look like he was being smug or challenging but it reminded Barry of what he looked like months ago when Barry had showed up to act as ‘Sam’ and Len had been on his guard, tense and nervous. Maybe just as nervous as Barry felt. And maybe he needed to play things out, to follow the script Len had set. Some measure of control, considering just how much of that control he was about to give away, if they followed through with the words he’d written.

So Barry stumbled through his reply, “Wh—you really think I’ll let you escape with that key, L—Captain Cold?” It wasn’t exactly what was in the fic, but close enough, and it’s not like he’d memorized it or anything. But Len seemed to take it as a cue, nodding slightly, looking a little more confident.

“With my cold gun, I’ll freeze your feet in place and the exit’s behind me. There’s not much you can do to stop me, Flash.” He said it with a tilt to his head, and Barry remembered this part of the story. In it, Captain Cold had definitely had the cold gun out and ready, not out of reach and powered down. All he had in his hand was the key, which he was twirling between his fingers. The exit was definitely not behind him, quite the opposite in fact. But Barry was getting where this was going, so with a tentative step forward, he splayed his hands out a bit. 

“That’s _if_ you can catch me, Cold,” that was his line, but Barry had to add, a little smirk of his own, “and I'm pretty fast, in case you hadn’t heard.”

He caught Len’s sharp look, then his almost-laugh at Barry’s addition. “Why don’t we put it to the test?”

Barry took another step forward, Len’s arms were down, open in a way that Barry understood as an invitation. He wondered how long they would— _could_ —follow the script. How far Len was taking this and if… if…

“Looks like…” he tried to remember the details, gently taking the key from Len’s hand, “you’re a little too slow, Cold.”

“That’s what you think.” Len’s voice was surer than Barry’s, and he remembered this part of the fic. At this point, The Flash and Cold had been fighting, freezing up the Flash’s ‘Lightning Dome’ and The Flash had got close, only to get his feet trapped by Captain Cold in an ice bomb. And after that…

“You really think this’ll stop me, Len?” Barry tripped up and said his name, but Len didn't seem to mind. They both stepped forward, and Barry breathed in sharp, suddenly so close. Were they doing this? It was insane. He didn’t know what else to say though, what else to do.

“You always manage to surprise me, Flash.” Len’s breathing was tight too.

Barry’s brain was reeling. He’d skipped a few lines. Now, in the fic… now was when the Flash had Cold on the ground, gun flung across the room.

“But that’s what makes it fun… We could make it _more_ fun though, Flash—more fun than just taking me into the CCPD. Could make it _really_ interesting.”

Oh god. Oh god oh god oh god—they were doing this. “What did you have in mind, Captain Cold?” He tried to inject some je-ne-sais-quoi to his voice, something appropriately mysterious and flirtatious to fit the line, and wondered for a second how actors did this, ready to laugh at himself for all his nerves.

Len reached out first, like in the fic, hand tentative between them for a second before Barry swallowed, nodded just a bit, and with a little slump of the tension in his shoulders, Len’s hand reached where there would’ve been the Flash emblem on his chest, had he been wearing the suit, then trailed down. Barry’s breath hitched.

“I think you know what I’m talking about, Flash.”

Part of him wondered if they should stop, should talk, should acknowledge the craziness of this situation. The rest of him stuffed _that_ part of him into a bag and shoved it into a corner of his mind where it couldn’t make any more noise, because _this_ was unlike anything he’d ever experienced. A step in either direction off the path might ruin the tension building, the trust building, the script they were following and where it led. And he wanted to trust Len, wanted to believe, wanted _this._

Len’s hand stopped at his navel and Barry remembered his line. “If you expect to buy your way out of this, Cold—“ Barry’s breath hitched—could he _really_ say it?

He leaned in close to Len’s ear, trying to smother his nerves, free hand coming to rest on Len’s waist, feeling the other start under his fingers. With the hand holding the key, he reached forward to intertwine his fingers with Len’s, then swallowed and kept talking.

 “If you expect to buy your way out of this, Len, then you’d better be convincing.”

He heard Len exhale near his ear, level height, and the hand on his shirt slipped a few inches lower. “Tell me, Flash, what would it take to _convince_ you?”

Barry shivered. He knew the double meaning of the lines, of the tightrope they were walking. But his next line in the fic felt too abrupt, too vulgar, even if it was easy to remember from Top’s smut, one of those lines that made your stomach tighten and your blood flow south.

_I’ve seen how you look at me, Cold, this dance we do. You’re already hard, don’t try to hide it. You think if you let me fuck you, I’ll let you off easy?_

It didn’t matter that Len’s line after that was asking for more, that the character in the fic—that Len—had whispered that what if it wasn’t just sex? Barry wasn’t sure if he could say that line, not with a straight face, not without ruining the moment. But what he could say…

“We both know we’ve been dancing around this, Len.” Barry moved his hand up from Len’s waist to trail it over his cheek, his jaw, feeling the sharp inhale, pulling back to look in Len’s eyes. “We both want this, I think we’re past hiding it.” He moved in, heart hammering hard, suppressing a tremor, voice dropping to a whisper, lips millimeters from Len’s. “Would you let me, if I wanted to?”

“And if I would?” Their eyes met, briefly, too close, Len’s voice quiet with a gentle rasp. “And if I wanted more than just this?” 

Barry squeezed his hand around the key, reassuring. “I’d give it to you, because I want it too.” It was off script but Barry didn’t care, leaning forward.

He didn’t know who closed the distance between them, a second of hesitation from each of them first—it felt like an eternity—but when their lips finally met it felt… _perfect_.

Len’s lips were soft under Barry’s, chapped and relenting, letting Barry pull him closer, make it deeper, make it everything he’d wanted for it to be for so long. A whine threatened to escape his throat, the intensity of this feeling surprising him, pressing closer to Len who pressed back, until they were chest to chest, Len’s hand around his waist now. It was everything he’d been secretly aching for these past so-many weeks, and maybe everything that Len had been wanting just as bad.

Barry dropped Len’s hand, the key falling unchecked to the ground, because he needed to _touch_. And just like that, his hands couldn’t still, restless excitement and nervous energy rising up, hands on Len’s jaw, the back of his neck, trailing down his back, wrapping around him, wanting the feel of skin on skin, craving more than this. He sucked Len’s lower lip and took full advantage when his mouth dropped open, sliding his tongue inside, hearing the soft, almost inaudible groan from the other man.

It didn’t take long for things to become hot, hotter than they already were, with hands everywhere and bodies aligned and started to writhe, kissing like neither of them needed oxygen. Barry was becoming too turned on to function right, brain slipping away, instincts taking over, wanting nothing more than to make Len feel good, to take him apart and put him back together with care.

He walked them over—sped, really, but not too fast—to the nearest wall, pressing Len up against it, gentle but insistent, hands everywhere for a moment, under Len’s shirts, getting harder by the second as Len gasped and started to press up, to respond under his hands.

Barry moved to pull and push Len’s shirts—sweater and undershirt—up until both men had to break apart for him to pull them over Len’s shoulders. Barry wanted to take a moment to admire, to bask in the skin, but he kissed Len again first, let his hands explore before his eyes could, fingers catching on ridges and scars, smooth and rough skin, warm and tantalizing. Then, with another nip at Len’s lips—they were sinful and Barry would kiss him for days, forever—he pulled away to let himself look, to admire.

“You’re gorgeous,” he breathed, eyes raking in tattoos and scars. Scars that he knew Len was self-conscious of, by his fiction, that Barry knew he was allowed to touch, by the actions of ‘Ryder’ in the fic.

He slowly brushed his fingers over them, and leaned forward to kiss, not missing Len’s hesitation, the set to his jaw.

“You think too much, Len,” Barry whispered, remembering. He trailed his fingers over the scars, kissed Len’s neck gently, ghosting his breath over it, sucking gently—not enough to leave a mark, just enough to make Len gasp. “Let go, just let yourself feel. I promise I’ll take care of you.” 

Len nodded, a little shakily, letting out a breath and Barry relaxed too, fingers slightly more daring, dipping lower, sliding over Len’s stomach to the trail of hair below his navel that led _down_.

Len’s hands were on Barry’s sides, gently clutching his shirts and he started to tug. Barry wasn’t about to deny the request, no matter how skinny he knew he looked, how he was sure not to live up to Top’s fantasies, his fic, Barry could at least put the same trust in Len as he was receiving in return. He pulled out of his shirts and delighted in the way that Len’s eyes roamed him.

“Barry…” his voice was quiet, and Barry felt his chest, his heart clench. It was the first time since being here that Len had actually said his name. “I want you.”

 _Oh_. Barry let out a breath, surprised, turned on, and couldn't help but kiss Len, but lean forward and capture his mouth, hand at the back of his head, other around him, all skin on skin, all heady possession and temptation.  

He wanted Len, he wanted Len to be _his_ , and he wanted this.

Len rolled his hips forward, into Barry’s, and they both gasped—Barry groaned more earnestly then, hands dropping to Len’s hips, cupping his ass, pulling his hips forward and flush against Barry with just a hint of speed, feeling their erections press together, caged by their pants. He let go of Len’s mouth and sucked his neck, kissed, nipped, and they rocked their hips together until Barry thought he might go mad, Len’s hands digging into his back.

“I want to fuck you, Len,” he scraped his teeth along the lobe of Len’s ear, voice raw, “I want this, you, everything.”

“God, I—me too, Barry."

Barry licked at some of the sweat starting to coalesce in the hollow of Len’s throat, trying to remember reality and not lose himself entirely. “Not against a wall.” As hot as it would be, had been in the fic, Ryder pressing into Cold while Cold faced the wall, legs spread, taking him right there—as much as the thought turned Barry on, he wanted Len to be comfortable, wanted to make this about more than base instincts. “There’s a couch a few rooms down we can—" 

“Take me there—” 

Barry didn’t hesitate, speeding them down to one of the STAR Labs lounges, seldom used now that the building had only three occupants most days. He laid Len out on the couch below him, grinning down at his slightly flushed face, his blown pupils, his bitten-red lips.

“Len,” he didn’t quite whisper but his voice was soft anyway, hand on the button of Len’s pants, leaning back to look down at the other man. “May I?”

 

XXXXX

 

Len swallowed hard and nodded, trying to smirk but he was sure it came out a little too nervous. He wanted this, wanted _Barry_ —had been lost in the feel of him until they’d sped here to this couch, until Barry had gone off script. Len knew he would feel vulnerable doing this, in giving charge over to Barry, but that was how he wanted it, how they both needed it. He needed to prove it wasn’t just about Barry’s (admittedly amazing) body, that he trusted him with more. 

Len lifted his hips and let Barry slide him out of his pants, kicking out of his shoes and socks, then had a thought. “The supplies are in my jacket—”

Barry blinked and disappeared. Len bit his lip. Barry was back, between his legs, a nervous smile of his own in Len’s direction. 

“You have no idea how hot you look like this,” Barry said quietly, and Len felt something warm tug inside of him, felt a little more heated himself under Barry’s appraisal, under his hands now sliding down Len’s body.

He leaned up on his elbows, watching Barry, and Barry leaned forward to capture his lips again, even while his hands moved and— _ah_ , cupped him on the outside of his dark boxer briefs, gently gripping the outline of his cock.

“I want to take you apart,” Barry moved to whisper in his ear, “I want to make you moan my name.”

Len shuddered out his next exhale, tilting his head back. “Whatever you want, Barry.”

The other was mouthing at his neck, and there was a frission of electricity before Len glanced down and Barry’s jeans were off, and Len’s underwear disappeared a second later. He groaned when Barry’s lips were back on his neck, hands on his hips, thighs, finding sensitive spots to tease before one hand gripped his cock and Len’s breath stuttered.

He spread his legs wider on the narrow couch, trying to check any noises that were too needy as Barry’s pace was lazy but practiced on his cock, thumb circling over his slit and making him gasp.

Barry kissed him again, altogether too gentle, and Len realized his eyes had fallen closed of their own accord, wrapped up in the sensations. He breathed into it, dragged his hands off the back of the couch and the cushion to run them over Barry’s body, over his back and his arms, his front, the ‘v’ of his hips. He felt a hand run down the inside of his thigh, retreat for all of a second, and then Barry pulled back.

“Lean back for me.”

Len fought the urge to flush and tilted his hips, his body, to give Barry better access. He felt slick fingers slip behind his balls, teasing his entrance in slow circles. He felt his body flutter, eager, pressing himself down onto the fingers teasing him.

“Thought you liked to go fast, Barry?” he smirked, couldn’t help himself.

Barry just laughed, “Thought _you_ enjoyed slow, Len? Isn’t that what cold is?”

“Mmm, wouldn't mind you picking up the pace.”

Barry pressed one finger inside and Len gasped. “Better?"

“ _Mmm_.”

His eyes slipped closed again and he let himself feel it, Barry opening him up. The hand on his cock slid away to hold his hamstring and press his leg back, out of the way, giving Barry better access and no-doubt quite the view, and then a second finger pressed inside, stretching him along with the first. 

Len groaned and Barry was pumping those fingers in, other hand hot on Len’s thigh but then he felt—eyes opening in shock because—Barry’s tongue was hot on the underside of his cock and Len choked out a stuttered curse, spreading himself wider. A hand flew to Barry’s hair, the other clutching the back of the couch, stretching himself out and whining when Barry’s mouth enveloped his cock.

“I swear to god you’d better hurry up with the prep or I’ll— _fuck!!_ ” Barry’s fingers had started to—oh god they were—Len groaned at the vibration inside of him, the feeling shooting up his prostate, cock straining and leaking precum, Barry licking the tip, all of it—

“You can actua— _lly_ — _ah_ —”

Barry’s lips sucked on the tip of his cock then came off with an obscene ‘pop’ sound.

“That uh, that’s canon yeah.”

Len let out a strangled, low laugh, pressing his hips further onto the vibrating fingers, feeling a third pressed tight into him as he willed himself to relax. “ _God,_ Barry.”

“You like?”

“Don’t ever stop.”

They’d tossed out the script of his fic a while ago and Len couldn't find it in him to be sorry. The fic didn’t have him receiving a blowjob, didn’t have vibration, didn’t have anything that was an unknown element to Len, but this—this was something else. But Barry pulled his fingers out too soon, gave a last lick to his cock and Len sighed at the loss of sensation, even though he knew he was going to enjoy what was coming next.

Barry rolled on the condom, wiped his hands on a scrap of fabric—was that his shirt?—so they weren’t slick with lube when he held Len’s hips and leaned forward.

“You ready?”

God he was _asking_? This was why Len had written the damn fic with himself pressed against a wall, facing away, all passion. Right now his brain wouldn’t work, too high on the remembered sensation of vibration inside of him, more than ready but Barry was asking and waiting for a goddamn answer and looking him in the eye and Len couldn’t look away, even as he was starting to blush, feeling vulnerable and open and turned on and _cared for_ by Barry’s slow pace, his massaging fingers against Len’s hips.

“Ready,” he managed to croak, just barely resisting the urge to throw an arm over his own eyes and cover his face against reality, against the blinding light of Barry’s smile. Barry who cock’s was pressed against his entrance, nudging, just— _ah_ —pressing against the tight ring and stretching it. They both groaned at the first inch, Len starting to pant quietly, unable to resist, finally throwing an arm over his eyes after all because damn— _this_? This was—this was much better than he’d—

“ _Fuck_ ,” he moaned as Barry pushed in deeper. It had been long, so long, since someone had done this for Len, to Len, someone other than himself with hands and toys. Barry groaned too, cock pressing into Len, cleaving into him until he was seated fully inside, up to the base. 

“You feel…so good,” Barry sounded like the words were punched out between gasps. “So good, Lenny. So gorgeous, so… _nnn_ , fuck, so…” He started to rock his hips forward, thrusts deep and slow, and Len’s legs found purchase by wrapping themselves around Barry’s lean hips. He rocked himself back up into Barry, making them both pant together, hands reaching up so he could hold on to the other man. 

“Yeah,” Len tried to keep a handle on his voice but it wasn’t happening. “Yeah, like that, _fuck_ , you feel— _a_ _h_ —that’s so good, Barry.”

The words were slipping out and he held onto Barry, to his slick back, a light sheen of sweat as they moved together, as Barry thrust into him, rhythmic, both of them moving in time. It wasn’t long before Barry was leaning over him more, close enough to start mouthing at all of the sensitive places on Len’s throat, jaw, making him moan and whine, making him capture Barry’s lips in searing kisses so he wouldn’t be driven totally mad by it all. Barry’s cock sliding along his prostate was pushing him to new heights of sensation, of sensitization, shuddering and letting out a new noise with each thrust, too much pleasure for shame at this point. 

“Len,” Barry’s voice was a broken gasp near his ear, “fuck, Len, _god_ , you—” he groaned and started to move faster, voice dropping, richer and raspier, telling Len how long, how goddamn long he’d wanted this, thought of him, thought of fucking him, of _holding_ him, of having this, together, how good—“ _so good, fuck so good_ ”—he felt, how tight and hot and slick. Len was coming apart at the seams, on the edge of just actually coming, Barry’s litany so much filthier and headier than he was anticipating, no way to hide his flush, his own arousal at the words, just open and taking it, taking Barry. 

Barry’s hands started to vibrate on his skin and Len choked out his next breath, the hands on his body moving down, electrifying, and—“ _please_ _Barry, fuck!_ ” The hand wrapped around his cock, using the precum to smooth the way, tugging and vibrating and Len cried out, arched up, body in a hard line of tension as he clutched to Barry and shouted, groaned, almost thrashed and he felt vibration inside of him— _fuck_ —and he was coming, white hot and shaking all over, gasping and moaning, completely unchecked.

He shuddered and shook as Barry sped up, almost impossibly fast but not, still here, still normal speed just on edge and then the other was groaning, biting Len’s shoulder and thrusting an uneven rhythm, deep inside Len’s oversensitive body, panting Len’s name as he came. 

Barry collapsed mostly onto Len after, held up by his elbows. Len wanted to let his legs down, sighing, but Barry was still inside him and eventually he nudged the other.

“Mm?”

“You’re kind of…”

“Oh!” Barry pulled out slowly, almost too gentle and Len felt a loss at the strange emptiness after, the reprieve. But then Barry blurred away for a moment, long enough for Len to stretch out, before he was back, lying alongside Len, condom gone and a warm cloth in hand. “In case you want to clean up?”

Len did, wiping away the cooling cum on himself. He wanted to clean up the slickness of his backside too, but that could wait until he had a proper shower, dumping the cloth on the ground and gathering Barry into his arms. The other came willingly, using one arm as a pillow and the other finding its way around Len’s middle.

“This couch isn’t big enough for us,” Barry smiled, seemingly relaxed and Len’s mouth quirked too. Their legs were tangled because both were too tall to stretch out properly.

“I believe that’s the virtue of an actual bed.”

“It still beats a wall.”

Len arched an eyebrow, but couldn't argue. The couch was… a nice touch. One he hadn’t expected, but well, Barry _did_ always manage to surprise him. Barry, who was here. That reality was settling in now. Len had stuck to the script, so to speak, for a means of what to expect, to make sure he was getting what he wanted, needed, out of this mess. Barry had messed it up, but in mostly allowable ways, and that was the point of some of this anyway, to prove that he trusted the other. Well, that and to finally have the sex they’d both obviously been wanting for quite some time.  

But now it was time for… “I think it’s time we made a new deal.” It was how the fic had ended. He didn’t have the key anymore, that was left back in the cortex, but the sentiment remained.

Barry’s eyes flicked to his, searching. “Yeah… more than time." 

“This won’t be…easy.”

“This?” 

Len stilled, suddenly nervous but Barry continued.

“Please tell me that you mean… that this is more than just sex, right? That we’re…I want to believe that we’re on the same page, Len. That after everything,” he looked down, chewed his lip a little and Len ached to kiss him, “…everything with our personas, with Nerd and Top, with us all this time… I feel like I know you, and that I don’t know near enough of you. But I… I want to…”

“You want this to be something,” Len clarified, heart a little up in his throat. “We both do, Barry.” It had to be said, and after this, Len was willing to take the leap and say it, another calculated risk in his current winning streak.

The other let go a breath, let go of so much tension. “Yeah. I like you, I like who you are when you tease me, when we face off, even. I like who you are behind the scenes, when we’re sharing ideas.” Barry looked at him then away, a shy smile, thumb drifting over Len’s spine. “I like how I feel when I let my guard down around you, when you let me in too.”

“I must say, I definitely didn’t mind the things you were saying when your, ah, guard was down.”

That got the expected blush and Len smirked at the sight, enjoying watching it spread down Barry’s neck and farther. “I may’ve said some things…” he mumbled.

“Some very dirty things.”

“It just, uh…”

“I wasn’t complaining.” 

Barry groaned and hid his face in his own arm. “I’m not the most filtered.”

Len kissed his cheek, surprising himself with the tender gesture, but he chased it by teasing, “can’t wait to see what you spout off next time, when I’m the one fucking you.”

Barry’s resulting groan was worth it. “Don’t make me think of that right now or we’ll never make it off this couch.”

“Oh? So some of the other suggestions you had online—your refractory period, for instance?”

Barry glanced up from his arm. “So there’s that, uh, that’s canon too, and so is the—but look, we should really stay on track here.”

Len chuckled, but acquiesced and sat up, reminding himself to go back over every smutty idea that Nerd had ever piped up about in the fandom, suggestions for ways The Flash’s powers might work. He was pretty sure they were going to have some fun things to test, assuming…

“So is this it then, Barry? Are we… doing this?” He wasn’t about to label ‘this’ quite yet. But they were both sitting, naked on a couch in STAR Labs—Len a little more sore than Barry, admittedly—and neither seemed to be running or regretting anything, yet.

“Yeah,” Barry nudged his shoulder and smiled over at him. “Yes? If you’re good with it then… we’ll have to talk some things out, obviously. I swear there’s some good fics for how they come to terms with things, but none of them… my job is gonna be a problem, we’ll have to keep things under wraps.”

“One more thing to hide?”

Barry nodded, a little more somber. “I’m good with secrets by now.”

Len nodded. “Me as well. I can be covert, so long as…”

“Yeah?”

“Will you be sharing this with your friends? Cisco and Snow?”

Barry leaned into Len’s side. “Cisco’s a no-brainer, he’s out with Lisa right now. Also, ‘Elsa’, really?" 

Len couldn't help the nickname, and said as much, to which Barry just rolled his eyes. 

“Either way, he probably already knows. And the rest… yeah, Len, I don’t want to lie to anyone else, anyone who already knows about me as The Flash anyway. And I guess Lisa knows?”

“Not your name, just…”

“Thank you,” Barry caught his eye to say it, and Len could tell he was surprised at that. 

“I gave you my word.”

“Still… thanks.” 

“Now that we’ve settled enough for the moment… I could use a shower, Barry.” And later if he could convince the other, possibly a massage.

“Same. One sec.”

Len felt the sweeping sensation of being lifted, and moments later he was standing in the cortex again, pile of clothes on the desk next to him, getting his bearings while Barry blurred into clothing.

“Some warning, Scarlet.” Len hauled his own clothes on at a much more reasonable pace, lower back a little sore now that he was standing, same with the muscles in his legs, hamstrings, but pleasantly so.

“Sure, sure,” Barry waved dismissively, pulling out his vibrating phone. “Sorry, just one sec.”

Len nodded and pulled on his sweater.

“Hey Felicity—what’s—…huh? But wait— _what_?!” Barry glanced around a little frantically and Len worried their evening might be interrupted by an emergency after all. But Barry was marching over to a wall for some reason. “Felicity you didn’t actually—what the hell?! _Felicity!!_ ” He was… pointing at… ah, it must be a camera. A… 

“She didn’t,” Len drawled, a little on edge. Who was Felicity, anyway?

“A—no we don’t need a smoking hot sex tape!”

Okay, Len might like this woman after all.

“Yes I understand the pun on ‘smoking’ and _would you stop laughing_!” Barry turned to him and shook his head, a little despondent. Len was just sure this woman and Lisa should never, ever meet. “Don’t you—don’t you _dare_ tell Ollie!”

Len waved at the camera the woman was obviously watching them through. “Say hi to—”

Barry glanced at him, waving, and rolled his eyes. “She says hi, Len. And please stop encouraging her. She helped me track your IP address and figure out you were Top, by the way.”

“Is she going to be a problem, Barry?” Len came closer, parka back in place.

“Huh—oh, no? She’s—no, I’m not putting him on the pho—” 

Len grabbed the phone. “Good evening.”

“Hi—oh wow you actually took the—I mean I'm Felicity, but you knew that, and I’m definitely not a fan of your work—by which I mean your heists and not a joke about the sex tape—which I didn’t actually _watch_! That didn’t happen. I was just teasing Barry. But that’s not the point.”

Len was pretty sure he was talking to a crazy person, but he couldn’t get a word in edgewise. 

“The point is that if you hurt my friend—I mean beyond having tried to kill him in the past—then me and _my_ friends will make sure your body is never found.”

Len raised his eyebrows and glanced over at Barry. “Miss—” 

“Oh and we definitely need to meet properly and not by the wreckage of a train, which I haven’t forgotten.”

“Are you—”

“And the sex tape is definitely being saved on disk but I’ll wipe it from STAR Labs’ security records.” 

“I thought you said you didn’t watch it?” his voice was teasing, if a little sharp, but keeping up with this woman was a little difficult.

“I didn’t—I just—I had to ensure when it was over so that I could call—there’s a timestamp—”

“Just ensure I get a copy.” He handed the phone back to a spluttering Barry. “She’s entertaining.”

“Felicity I will call you back and _do not tell Oliver_! I will tell him when I visit.” He hung up and Len glanced at him.

“Oliver an ex?”

“What—no! No. No, a friend. Just… he’s… it’s…”

“An almost ex?”

“It’s Oliver Queen.”

“Barry…” Len wasn’t quite sure what to do with _that_ information.

“Look, Len, my life is…there’s a lot of craziness, more than it even seems.” Barry looked nervous, curling in on himself. “I’d understand if…”

Len stepped forward, took the phone from Barry and dropped it on the nearest table, then settled his hands on Barry’s waist, because he was allowed to touch, allowed to have this, allowed to enjoy, to reassure. And he knew Barry well enough, knew his friend from fandom well enough, to know what he needed to hear, by now.

“I’m not about to turn my back on this just because your friends are crazy, Barry.” He quirked an eyebrow, and brought up one hand to cup Barry’s face. “Mine are too, you know. But that’s… _this_ … is worth taking a calculated risk or three. The person I know, Nerd from fandom, The Flash, and _you_ , Barry Allen—you’re worth it.”

Barry exhaled, leaned forward, and kissed him. “You know…I ship us.” He smirked a little, and Len smiled into the next kiss.

“We’re my OTP.”

**Author's Note:**

> This has been so great! Such an amazing experience to be part of writing as a whole team with a group of amazing authors in this fandom!
> 
> Thank you to everyone who was part of this and to all the readers!
> 
> (ALSO THERE IS AN EPILOGUE AND YOU SHOULD MAKE SURE YOU READ IT BECAUSE IT IS AMAZING)


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